Ever for artists to probe and create new works

Ever
since I was a child, I had a penchant for art. As a child, I would spend
countless hours scribbling on the walls of my house. Family and friends called
me mischievous, while my mother called me talented. She enrolled me in
sculpting classes at age nine, and painting classes at age eleven. I’ve been
painting in acrylics and oils ever since. Down the line, I also picked up
embroidery and sketching. Art and I are as close as two coats of paint. I love
creating things with my hands and art permits me to do just that.

In
high school, as part of the school paper, I taught myself Adobe Photoshop to
design posters. It was a major leap for me, and the start of something new. From
making posters by hand to designing posters on computers, Photoshop was a
game-changer. I was instantly drawn to designing on computers for its
simplicity and flexibility – any mistake could be easily undone! Colors were
more vibrant, and the process was overall more efficient.

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For
this paper, I investigate how computers have transformed digital art. The
introduction of computers to art in the late 60s and early 70s paved the way
for artists to probe and create new works of art that manipulated color and
texture (Paul, Christiane.
“Renderings of Digital Art.” Leonardo, vol. 35, no. 5, Dec. 2002, pp.
471-484. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1162/002409402320774303.). The most prominent digital
artist was arguably Andy Warhol. Art historians agree that Warhol’s work was a
landmark in contemporary art and opened doors to usher in digital and computer
art. Warhol’s color pop and style were initially what attracted me to using
Photoshop to design posters for the school paper.

Computers
have dramatically changed the face of art as we know it. At one point in time,
artists were paid by the hour because creative designs took hours to fabricate.
Now all it takes is a click of a mouse. The gist of this new technology is that
computers have made it more efficient to produce art. Artists can achieve the
same level of creativity by spending less time. Also, the introduction of the
internet facilitated the easy sharing o f files, allowing artists from around
the world to collaborate with one another.

But
it isn’t a drastic change altogether. According to a New York Times article, contemporary
art, albeit designed on computers, is still recreated on traditional media like
paper, canvas, wood or aluminum (Reyburn,
S. (2018). The market for computer-created artwork is growing. online
Nytimes.com. Reyburn, Scott. “The
market for computer-Created artwork is growing.” The New York Times, The New
York Times, 30 May 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/06/02/arts/international/on-screen-and-on-the-block-digital-artwork.html).

No
doubt this new technology has put hundreds of people out of jobs, but it has
also introduced thousands of new jobs to the market. Critics may say that
computers take the personal touch out of art, but I strongly believe that art
is only a medium to express, and it’s here to change not only lives, but also
itself. At the end of the day, it’s not the art medium that makes the most
difference, it’s the artist. The only thing common in all works of art is the
artist itself. Neither a pencil nor a
stylus can create art without an artist. Just like how papyrus was replaced
with paper, which was later replaced by canvas, art is always changing, and
that’s what makes it so versatile. Art does not stagnate, it continuously evolves.

Art
is undergoing a metamorphosis. I was at an art exhibition in Bloomington
recently when the artist told me that he used Adobe Illustrator to design the
foundations for his paintings. In this way, I think it’s great how contemporary
and traditional art work together and complement one another.

And
with apps like “3D Paint” coming pre-installed in every household PC, newer
forms of art are becoming more accessible to the masses. In fact, more and more
people are employing resources that allow them to channel their creativity (Britishcouncil.org. (2018). Can digital art
be called art? online Available at:
https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/can-digital-art-be-called-art
Accessed 28 Jan. 2018). It isn’t long before people are able to generate
art using Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR).